There wasn’t a cowboy boot in sight at last night’s premiere party for the History network’s Hatfields & McCoys—where members of the ensemble cast looked impeccably groomed and outfitted, unlike the famously rough-and-tumble feuding families they play onscreen—until stars Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton arrived. Both actors showed up at Milk Studios’ sleek space in L.A. wearing what their 19th-century characters, the Hatfield and McCoy patriarchs, might: boot-cut jeans, unbuttoned shirts, and custom cowboy boots.

“My wife made these for me and I never take them off,” Kevin Costner replied when we asked him about his chestnut-colored leather boots. ”I guess that means I’m always prepared to be kicked out or something.” Paxton designed his own mahogany-colored pair. “These were actually made at Fort Worth, Texas, from a great, old boot-maker called M.L. Leddy. These are a 1940s style with my initials,” Paxton said, enthusiastically rolling up his jeans to show off his well-worn footwear. “It’s a custom-made boot company, though, so you have to order them a year in advance.”

Besides discussing cowboy boots, Costner and Paxton were in Hollywood to celebrate History’s scripted endeavor, the three-part Hatfields & McCoys miniseries that premieres on May 28. Paxton, who recently presided over another sprawling family, on HBO’s Big Love, was hoping that the project would not just entertain audiences but inspire television-industry executives: “It is a huge production that people can watch on basic cable for free. I hope that this makes other networks want to do shows like this, because they’re well-made, character driven, and you can attract great actors to them.” Laughing, he added, “And honestly, I don’t know how many more reality shows I can take.”

The driving force behind Hatfields & McCoys, however, was Kevin Costner, without whom, both producer Leslie Grief and History’s president, Nancy Dubuc, told us, the miniseries would have never happened. The Academy Award winner, who has been called a present-day Gary Cooper for his work in Westerns (including Wyatt Earp,Silverado, and Open Range), jump-started the series into production just by attaching himself. (It’s also Costner’s first collaboration with his Fandango and Robin Hood: Prince of Thievesdirector, Kevin Reynolds, since their fallout on the set of Waterworld.)

Over time, Costner says, he’s realized how to detect a good gunslinging, period piece in its early stages. “The literacy is what matters,” he explained. “If I think it is written well, then I know that it will play in this century. If it’s not written well, or written in a very base way, it won’t travel. There will be little moments that startle you, that make you think, That’s not how we live now. But if it’s written well, you don’t distance yourself from someone living in another century. You’re able to have empathy for what they were going through.”

In addition to playing “Devil” Anse Hatfield, Costner served as a second-unit director and composed the series’ final song. “You pitch in for areas that you think you know what you’re doing,” Costner told us. “You can stick your hand up and say, ‘I’ll do the second-unit shot.’” Then he clarified, “But maybe not ‘I’ll play the girl.’”